Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Lynch & Associates IN

Lynch & Associates IN increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 92,926 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,741 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 2.6% of Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $117.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $298.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.07. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.